The Solar Storm Changes Its Course and Targets Mars
The Earth was recently exposed to the strongest geomagnetic solar storm in history on May 14, resulting from activity on a sunspot known as “AR3664,” estimated to be about 15 times larger than Earth. This eruption occurred away from our planet and headed towards Mars.
This storm is expected to affect Mars as solar plasma eruptions and the magnetic field, known as “coronal mass ejections,” will be directed towards the red planet, according to the space exploration company “Space.”
Dr. Ed Thiemann, an expert in solar physics at the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) in Boulder, stated to “Space”: “Based on previous events, we expect the flare to rise rapidly and impact Mars‘ upper atmosphere, which could lead to a rise in its temperature and expand the sunlit half of the planet by several tens of kilometers for a few hours.”
He pointed out that the coronal mass ejection accompanying the flare would head towards Mars, potentially causing a global aurora and activating the planet’s upper ionosphere and magnetosphere.
